Mr Harris said: “People with disabilities want to live their life to their full potential, they want to play their role in society, they want to, like everyone else… have a career and to access the workforce.”

Until now, there were not enough supports in place to assist them, he said.

“One of the big barriers was… people with disabilities wanting to take up employment but worried that if they did so they’d lose their safety net, they would lose their access to medical care through the medical card.”

Simon Harris (Niall Carson/PA)

Mr Harris added that society needed people to make that contribution as well and he hoped the improved thresholds would make it easier to enter the workforce.

The Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) described the changes as a big step for people with disabilities.

DFI chief executive Senator John Dolan said fear of losing a medical card was identified as the biggest barrier to work in the Government’s inter-department 2017 report entitled Make Work Pay.

Mr Dolan said a range of supports were needed to improve the “horrendous unemployment rates” for people living with a disability and this was one of those supports.

I was constantly stuck in a bind between working and working too much because I was always afraid: the massive fear of losing the medical card
Peter Boyd

“I was constantly stuck in a bind between working and working too much because I was always afraid: the massive fear of losing the medical card”